Friday, March 9, 2012

"Real Beauty Campaign"= A step in the right direction?



             As we have discovered in the class discussions, there are plenty of advertisement out there that aim to make women feel bad about themselves. That is the goal for many of advertisements in order to generate sales. Cortese writes in "Constructed Bodies" that  an advertisement must be serving two goals: "First it should raise your anxiety level. It should persuade you that you need something: it should make you feel guilty, inferior or somehow "less than". Second, an ad must provide the solution." So I wanted to find an advertisement that I think has a different approach than the mainstream.

            The advertisement that caught my interest is the advertisements for Dove. In no way is the advertisements free from all of the aspects that we have talked about in class, they are still trying to sell a product. But they do have a interesting angle in selling their product. They have started the "Real Beauty Campaign." Dove created this campaign which promotes "real" women and their "real" beauty. The models for the ads are not skinny looking teenage girls but a variety of women of all ages that look comfortable in their own skin. Dove is a skincare product brand so of course the sentiment is that you will feel even better in your own skin, if you use their product  In many ways I think they could have pushed the envelope even further. However they do offer up an alternative to the narrow image market of mainstream US advertisement.
            On their website Dove states that their mission with the campaign is "Widening the Definition of Beauty." The campaign is a worldwide effort to change the landscape of female images used in advertisements. Jean Kilbourn writes in Beauty Beasts that "Advertisement is an over $130 billion a year industry and affect all of us throughout our lives." So although it can be said that this commercial which promotes individuality is not enough, it can also be seen as a step in the right direction. There is no way we can expect the booming industry of advertising to just stop using theses sexist images. However with a commercial like Doves "real beauty campaign", overtime we can gradually change the angle advertisers take in the promotion of beauty. If we manage to change the pattern of stereotypical imaging of the female body then over time, it can affect other troublesome depictions. Gradually the adverts would become more and more realistic, less sexist and hopefully less violent.
            The advertisements used for the Real Beauty Campaign have taken one step. They depict different looking women. However the women still look photo shopped and perfect, for the body type that they are representing. Dove's advertisement is not free from the industry's demand of perfection, as mentioned before. I think it would be interesting to take their approach even further. They could sell their products through being the brand that says " you don't need to change" and let the pictures of their models stay as true to reality as possible. The problem with skin care products is quite obvious, the item promoted has to sell. And in our society and culture, we are told we need to change to be perfect. So how can a company like Dove get items to sell while not promoting an image of inequality in women that the product can fix? Maybe by enhancing even stronger the idea that you buy this brand because you are happy being you and looking the way you do. Market oneself as a brand strongly promoting a healthy self-image where the product can help you maintain a healthier you. However this healthier you does not need to meet the measurements of an unrealistic ideal.
            In the long run what has to happen is that our culture has to be evolving and pushed into a direction where the images of beauty and health are more accurately in line with reality. When that happens brands of beauty care product can completely let go of unrealistic depictions of ideals and they could potentially still sell products. 





Dove Real Beauty Campaign















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